The hivemind is conquering for me? Chapter 775: Illuminated Path

"Stay." Orchid commanded Janine as she stepped into her bedroom, closing the door firmly behind. Making her way to the wardrobe, she retrieved a crystal. Having observed Apollo use it several times, she now understood its function and activated it, settling in to wait patiently.

...

Sophia was seated in her opulent penthouse, adorned in a new, costly Ephemra dress, eager to impress Apollo upon their next meeting. The neckline offered generous cleavage, and its stretchy nature meant she could comfortably wear it even with her hooves exposed...

Her thoughts, however, quickly shifted from the carnal as she realized she wasn't alone. Xeti, the Latchak alien who had attempted to assassinate Janine a few months prior, was present. "Report," Sophia instructed the completely unclothed, green and black alien.

A dark pleasure flickered in Sophia as she surveyed the numerous wounds marring the biped's body. After Keyla's departure, the alien had faced significant retaliation. It had taken Sophia weeks to break the Latchak herself, yet now, it stood before her, utterly subservient.

"Yes, Mistress." The alien's voice emerged, though its face remained unmoving. "Your experiments have permanently severed my connection to my people. I am utterly alone. I can sense the parasite from your poison growing within my Mindspace and am actively nurturing it, as you wished. It will not be long before I seamlessly join your cult. I have purged all non-essential biological augmentations to accommodate your gift. The only one I cannot permanently remove, lest it prove fatal, is my faceplate. However, it is now as pliable as the rest of my skin in its natural state and should be malleable."

The alien shifted uncomfortably under Sophia’s penetrating gaze and continued.

"As per your directives, I have also rejuvenated my reproductive organs, returning my body to its biological default state. I estimate I am now 87% weaker than when I made the grave error of attempting to end Apollo's Sepiida's life."

Sophia rose and looked up at the alien, who stood close to six and a half feet tall. She advanced, a smirk playing on her lips. Xeti lowered herself to meet Sophia's eye level. Sophia then grasped the alien's jaw, locking gaze with its crimson red eyes.

She tilted the alien's head from side to side. Pushing aside the female's dreadlocks, she examined her entire face before nodding.

"Hmm, I concede, even without lips, you possess considerable allure. Those markings around your face, your flat yet angular nose, and that long neck – perfect for throttling... I can envision Apollo finding you intriguing. Especially considering he has yet to consort with any aliens. Well, aside from the outer family and Janine, but they don't count."

"M-Mistress, may I speak candidly?" Xeti inquired. Sophia's eyes narrowed.

"Define 'candidly'. Proceed."

"You stated that once the Parasite takes hold, I will become one with you, correct? Would I then no longer be considered 'alien' to Apollo?"

"Utilizing your moment of candor to inquire about the mate... Commendable. You are evolving. It will take decades before you are deemed part of the outer family; the initial stage is hybridization. Your appearance will remain unchanged. And you look distinct from the rest of the cult. Therefore, yes, you will still be perceived as an Alien. But do not fret, Apollo views us all as his beloved. All those who carry the genes of the great mother. For such individuals, his affection is eternal~"

Sophia closed her eyes, biting her lip as her hand moved to her sternum, overwhelmed by a surge of intense emotion. She resolved to disperse this feeling into the underlink, a reward for her subordinates, a bonus of sorts for them.

Upon reopening her eyes, she saw Xeti looking away, a clear indication of submission. This demonstrated a lack of ulterior motives.

Sophia perceived that Xeti seemed to have another question. Given her current pleasant disposition, she was about to grant permission when a communicator suddenly chimed.

Moving with incredible speed, Sophia reached the bar where she had left the crystal and picked it up. "Apollo? I thought you were at war? What transpired? Did you decide to bring the crystal along? Are you feeling amorous? Do you require me to send some pictures for you and-"

"-It's Orchid. Has the Bloodfiend returned?"

Sophia stared at the communicator in her hand, bewildered, before raising it back to her ear. "Orchid? Since when do you employ technology? Ugh. I'm feeling so restless; I was genuinely looking forward to speaking with Apollo just now. How are-"

"Has the Bloodfiend returned?" Orchid repeated, her tone firm. Sophia, unable to detect the underlying use of her hive authority to silence her, responded with professional curtness.

"No, she is significantly overdue. She indicated her task would take two months, but it has stretched far beyond that. I suspect she underestimated her capabilities compared to her previous targets. Why do you ask?"

"Orchid has had to speak to two humans today who came looking for Apollo in correlation to the ’Sanguine Butcher’. Orchid is worried the Bloodfiend is a threat to Apollo-loves happiness. Orchid needs to know if she needs to leave and get the queen to retrieve him from this galaxy with overwhelming force."

Sophia pinched the bridge of her nose. "Orchid, that’s not what is happening. Kathrine called here the other day about some detectives trying to figure out Keyla’s identity. They have nothing on Apollo. He is safe. However, if you desire, I can put the risk of the cult at risk to reach out to Keyla. As I too am curious about her whereabouts."

"You put your cult over Apollo’s guaranteed wellbeing?" Orchid questioned sternly, causing Sophia to panic.

"No no no! Of course not! Apollo-mate before everything! I will try and reach out to her now!"

"Keyla’s mind has been touched by the queen. Reach out for the queen’s trace and not Keyla, it will reach back, you will be undetected." Orchid instructed, and Sophia began.

She closed her eyes and opened her Mindspace. The countless number of branches piercing out from it became blurred the further they went and at a certain point, they became invisible, almost impossible to traverse her mind to. Ones on other planets in the core worlds were barely visible to her and those further were uncontactable without risk. The four furthest from her were easy to identify though. Delilah, Ronnie, Willow and Keyla. Willow was in the opposite direction from the rest of them and was easy to rule out, but following the path to figure out which of the three was extremely difficult. Branching off her underline for even a fraction of a second could leave her and by extension the under link at risk of infiltration.

Focusing her attention, she searched for the queen’s presence in the direction of Keyla. It was difficult. It was not her function to reach out this much, but she succeeded, she could feel a spec. A lingering afterthought in the mind of one of her children. It gave her a pleasant biological stimulation to feel the queen’s intent again. She locked onto it instantly and could build the connection to Keyla. The branch became illuminated by the queen’s touch, allowing trivial acces and a moment later...

’Fuck me Apollo~ Oh yes! Ahhh~ Mmmh~ fuck me on all these dead bodies we have just murdered! Ahhh! Cumming! Ngghhhaa~ Breed me! Make me your bloody bitch! Nnggh~’

The intense graphic imagery Sophia was seeing as she connected to Keyla left her stunned. The sensation she was feeling... Keyla’s imagination was that strong, it actually felt like Apollo was somehow pounding her senseless. She wanted to get lost in the sensation for a moment, but Orchid was waiting for her.

"Keyla."

"Ah!! Back off, you spooky bitch! He’s mine!" Keyla screamed before continuing to pleasure herself senselessly.

"Keyla!" Sophia pressed again and suddenly Keyla felt herself tense up, the image of Apollo in her mind disappeared and she opened her eyes. Looking around she was in her bunk before realizing.

"Wait what the fuck? Mama? Why are you reaching out? Did something happen? It’s dangerous for you to do this, I am so far away!" Keyla exclaimed as she stood up, ignoring the wet sensation of her panties.

Sophia got straight to business. "Keyla, where are you? Two detectives are looking for Apollo in correlation to the murder of that Archon you killed. Is he in danger?"

"What? Thorn and Malone? Please, they couldn’t even find me when I was a child. They are just chasing straws. They have nothing on Apollo. They are probably just following the Kathrine trail. It will be fine. Oh, while I have you, I’m not sure how much longer this is going to take. It’s already taken waaaaaay longer than I originally planned. The Lochagos put me on this super training, but I sort of kicked the ever loving shit out of the elites that were supposed to beat me up on the first day and I kind of skipped it. Don’t worry though, as soon as I find a way to get alone with her, in a place that has no cameras, as I mean seriously there are so many fucking cameras in this place, I will off her and make another painting for Apollo."

"Lochagos?" Was all Sophia could manage to understand out of Keyla’s rant. Well that and Apollo was seemingly fine.

"Keyla? Where are you right now?"

"Oh? Did I not say? Sorry. It must be like my mind was elsewhere, like thought fucking the only person I care about... I joined the army! Fun right!"

Sophia did not find it fun...

"You did what!?!"